Link dump

Ban the sale of bullfrogs in California. A pretty good idea IMO.

Want camera trap images sent to your smart phone. There's an app for that.

Jaguar in Arizona treed by Mt. Lion hunter. UofA deploys 240 camera traps!


Ca Condors in the Grand Canyon lead authorities to a body.

A week old but the greatest video from space ever.

Humbolt Squid are shrinking.  I was going to make a joke about the water getting colder, but turns out it is because the water is getting warmer.

Killer Whale washes up on the shores of Pt. Reyes.

Fishers back in their old habitat in Northern Sierras. I expect some pictures Codger.

Sorry this post has been sitting around in the draft pile for some time.

450+ images and all I got was this flipping bird

Title says it all, but I turned all the images into a short movie.




Sigh*

Just way too much open space for the IR sensor to wig out on.  Lesson learned. But there were a few images in there of one living chordate.







This is one of the Carpodacus finches, likely Carpodacus mexicanus, the House Finch. While a common bird this is the first time I have gotten them on camera trap and actually the first time I have "seen" them at Younger Lagoon at all.




Thanks to local birding legend Steve Gerow for the ID help. I was not sure if it was a House Finch or a Purple Finch and really how to tell the difference between the two. Steve wrote:

"but the impression I get of the general structure ... is much more like House Finches, with a smaller rounder head, short bill with just about the right curve to the culmen, etc.  Purple Finches almost always look larger headed, with a squarer or more angular head shape, and a longer bill that is not so curved.."

Conclusion: I have a lot of room for improvement in my birding skillz and my non-amphitheatre style trap set placement skillz.

Brewer's Corner - Perry

Welcome back to the Brewer's Corner!

After success with Gruit Ale, there was an urge to try something different. My brewing partner, Martine, related that a pear tree at her family home in Calistoga was producing an amazing amount of pears.

Therefore it was decided. 

The next brew would be Perry, otherwise known as Pear Cider!

CALISTOGA PEARS

Sliced and Juiced

------------------------------------------------- zoom new kitchen ---------------------------------------------

adding the pectic enzyme

adding the tannins

yeast and yeast nutrient added (hands not shown)

ready to go

After about a week of fermentation, the Perry was carbonated and aged for six weeks before a bottle was opened for a sample.

crisp !

The Perry was another success. Crisp with distinct flavors and a hint of sweetness (pears have more sugar than apples, for those with apple cider experience), the Perry stands as an excellent drink to share with chums alongside an array of fine cheeses*.


*or crappy cheese, I'm not a huge cheese snob

Sprucing up the Midden

I stumbled across this midden a few 10s of meters from the Great Highway.  I had no idea it was there and had to tromp through some stinging nettle to get to it, but alas an easily accessible midden at Younger Lagoon.  Now it was time to get some close-ups of a Neotoma with the homebrew.







Christian and I met up a few days after I made this set and thank god for that.  As you can see something moved the camera and had it pointed all in the wrong direction. Luckily Christian and I were able to reset the camera without too many lost days and got some great Woodrat pictures.









The little one then brings in some fresh green branches to spruce up the midden being careful to place them oh so right.

Link Dump

Making a feral raccoon suit.

Tracking Mountain Lions in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

More camera trapping from Sumatra in the news.

Ryan Farr's Whole Beast Butchery book is out. Just got my copy and it is loaded with awesome pictures of meaty goodness.

The local Hyena colony is running out of funding and may need to be split up and shipped off. It was always bizarrely wonderful to hear sounds of hyenas coming down Strawberry Canyon.